Byte Size: Best Films of 2022
Movies. They're back, baby.
According to my Letterboxd Watch List tracker, I watched a total of 57 recent release films in 2022, which is one more than last year. (Hell yeah. Suck it, 2021.)
While it was a pretty mixed bag overall, with plenty of stinkers, disappointments and big studio comic book slop (more on that to come), there were still a few diamonds in that rough. So, here’s my list of the Best Films of 2022, along with two honourable mentions to round out a nice algorithmic ten. Enjoy!
Ambulance
Synopsis: “Two robbers steal an ambulance after their heist goes awry.”
With an incredibly pithy, ten-word, back-of-a-napkin pitch and some of the most audacious, jaw-dropping drone cinematography ever put to film, it makes total sense that a singular, idiosyncratic, “vulgar auteur” like Micheal Bay would be the one to pierce the pandemic veil and restore the white-knuckle thrill of movie magic. This was easily the most fun I’ve had in the cinema in a very long time.
Decision to Leave
Synopsis: “A detective investigating a man's death in the mountains meets the dead man's mysterious wife in the course of his dogged sleuthing.”
I’m admittedly a novice regarding South Koren cinema and the extensive filmography of legendary director Park Chan-wook, so I put his latest effort off for a little while, at least until the Film Twitter hubbub had died down. With a week’s worth of holiday in front of me and a leisurely state of mind, I allowed myself to get drawn into Chan-wook’s Hitchcockian murder-plot thrill ride as slowly and methodically as possible—and it was simply a joy to behold. A great story with plenty of subversive twists and turns, anchored by exceptional performances and rendered through a keen and purposeful eye. Glorious.
RRR
Synopsis: “A fictitious story about two legendary revolutionaries and their journey away from home before they started fighting for their country in the 1920s.”
“In this 1920s Telugu-language epic centred on the fictional history of two Indian revolutionary freedom fighters, the opening credits arrive after 45 breathless minutes. Within this cinematic preamble, viewers are exposed to sneering colonial child abduction, shirtless tribal guardians screaming at tigers, an impeccably moustachioed officer single-handedly clubbing back hundreds of rioters, and a daring bridge rescue involving horses, motorcycles and exploding trains. Yet these scenes barely scratch the surface of RRR's three hours of dizzying spectacle, stretching gleefully from outlandish action to musical dance battles to bromance comedy and back again with reckless abandon.” (“Exclaim!’s 20 Best Films of 2022”)
Avatar: The Way of Water
Synopsis: “Jake Sully lives with his newfound family formed on the extrasolar moon Pandora. Once a familiar threat returns to finish what was previously started, Jake must work with Neytiri and the army of the Na’vi race to protect their home.”
Okay, look. I already know what you’re thinking. ‘Really, Owen? The sci-fi sequel to the Pochahontas-meets-Ferntree Gully movie about big blue cat-ear aliens living on a forest moon that indulged in vacant indigenous stereotypes, surface-level anticolonial messaging, and made more money than any other film in existence? The one that took God Emperor and deep-sea diving aficionado James Cameron thirteen years to bring to life? That’s one of your top films?’
Damn, and I cannot stress this enough, straight.
Top Gun: Maverick
Synopsis: “After thirty years, Maverick is still pushing the envelope as a top naval aviator but must confront ghosts of his past when he leads TOP GUN's elite graduates on a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those chosen to fly it.”
It’s wild to think that this thing has been sitting around, finished and ready to go throughout much of the pandemic, yet Maverick-made-real actor Tom Cruise—one of the last true Hollywood film stars—steadfastly refused to have the film screen without a proper theatrical release. No streaming bullshit for Mr Cruise. No sir. And say what you want about the man, but his intuition is strong, and he managed to ride an uncertain legacy sequel to a beloved 80s classic all the way to billion-dollar box office returns and the stuff of cinematic history.
The Northman
Synopsis: “A young Viking prince is on a quest to avenge his father's murder.”
Is there anything cooler than watching a bunch of muscled-up blokes covered in finger-licking grease, animal skins, war paint, and the blood of their enemies sitting around a towering fire, grunting and roaring in the voices of makeshift wolves and bears, as a means to incite rituals of war, vengeance and ruination? I think not. This is epic “dudes rock” cinema circa 895 CE, and it totally rules.
The Banshees of Inisherin
Synopsis: “Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them.”
I watched this film from my house on Christmas Day and the only things missing were a nice big pint and a rolling green field. If you’ve ever had a friendship that slowly disintegrated into bitter estrangement and/or indifferent acquaintacy for reasons you don’t quite understand (or can’t be bothered to recall), then this is for you. Also features the year’s best use of animals in film.
Crimes of the Future
Synopsis: “Humans adapt to a synthetic environment with new transformations and mutations. With his partner, Caprice, Saul Tenser, a celebrity performance artist, publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances.”
What can I really say about this one? It’s a new Cronenberg joint, so of course, it would end up here. Is it suitably weird and off-kilter? Double check. Does it have a surplus of horned-up libidinal energy? You betcha. Is it stacked with great performances? Indeed, and in ways that the film’s trailer and/or hype surrounding it cannot possibly prepare you for. Does anyone fuck an automobile? Sadly, no. But it is a film full of creeps and weirdos and bone-shaped organs and tech devices that fill holes both new and old. So, yeah… there’s that, I guess.
Honourable Mentions
Kimi
Synopsis: “An agoraphobic Seattle tech worker uncovers evidence of a crime.”
Plenty of recent films have tried to capture the sense of temporal dislocation and accumulated discomfort of the pandemic’s interminable plague years, only to stumble at the block through the crutch of gratuitous irony and aged gags about masks and nasal swabs (*cough* The Bubble *cough*). However, none of them even come close to this quiet slow-burn feature from Steven Soderbergh. It’s a film that brilliantly depicts a singular moment in time while also weaving smart social commentary around a tense and rewarding plot. Great stuff.
This Place Rules
Synopsis: “Follows events and characters surrounding the January 6th, 2021 insurrection of the U.S. Capitol Building in the days preceding the attack.”
If you only ever watch one YouTube channel as a way to understand this completely fucked, bizarro world, darkest timeline reality we’re currently living through, it needs to be Channel 5. In levelling up to his feature debut, Andrew Callahan utilises the January 6th Capitol Riot as an inciting incident and helpful framing device to document everything wrong with the American Dream. It’s measured, insightful and often extremely funny in dark and disturbing ways. Show it to your radicalised boomer uncle, and let the familial sparks fly.
